The One Who Lived
by Calascent
Summary: The War of the Sands is over and everything has returned to normal. Until our favorite white-eyed friend Herobrine stirs some mayham. Now its up to the Yogscast and several young heros to save Minecraftia.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The cool, moist air hit him like a boxer as he stood on top of the mountain, gazing over at the town rising out of the valley. The quaint village was built around the Crystaline River that flowed from the mountain spring across from him. By the look of things, there were only a few more buildings left to be made before the town would be done. But the cobblestone streets still buzzed with activity.

As he watched, music began to play from the looming clock tower in the eastern part of the town. In the brightly lit square, women in multicolored skirts began dancing; no doubt in celebration of the new town. The colorful skirts swirled around a central woman, or rather a girl, who was playing a wooden flute. The man atop the mountain retrieved a telescope from his sack and took a closer look at the girl. She didn't wear a skirt or dress like the other women and girls, but a leather and leaf-like armor. Rust colored hair adorned her head, cascading down her back in straight, feathery layers, like lava. Alongside the leather satchel at her feet were a sheathed sword and a gilded bow with a silver inlay. The man mentally slapped himself for paying so much attention to a mere mortal.

General Astley, Commander of Creeper Squad 7, walked up to the demon lord staring at the village.

"What are your ordersssss sssssir?" the General hissed. The man slowly lowered his telescope, pondering his next move.

"Leave this valley untouched until I decide completely." he said.

Before Commander Astley could respond, the demon lord spun around and snapped at him, "Well go on! Go! And tell the others!" He calmly returned to his gazing. "No harm shall come to that village…yet."


	2. Chapter 2

A week went by in the small town of Burnadale without a single monster attack. The elders of Burnadale said that it was a blessing from Notch, but Lydia knew the real reason all the creatures stopped. It was Him. The man she saw 12 years ago. The man with the pure white eyes.

Lydia put her gilded bow across her back and jump out if the tree to collect her spoiling, a medium size cow. The cow was just big enough for a new pair if leather winter boots. She was in desperate need of winter wear, her last home being in the middle of the desert. That's why she was so willing to use the flute, which under different circumstances she would never use, to make extra money.

An elderly woman carrying a hand woven basket walked through the trees and stumbled upon Lydia. The woman gasped.

"Lydia! What in Notch's name are you doing!" The 19 year-old froze over the mutilated carcass. She slowly set down her hunting knife and turned her head.

"Grandmother. What a nice surprise."

"Lydia!" The old woman fumed with anger. "There are customs in the village that you must follow. One of them being you shouldn't be in the forest by yourself!" Lydia sighed.

"But Grandmother-" The older woman held up her hand in silence.

"No! Don't interrupt!" Grandmother sighed. "It's bad enough that you refuse to wear proper clothing for a young lady, but now you're hunting in the forest!"

"Skirts are a pain to move in and I needed a new pair of winter boots." Lydia calmly explained.

"Don't you have extra money from all that flute playing?" The woman asked. Lydia shook her head.

"No, all that money goes to my rent and meals. Or at least until the general store opens and I can get a job. Besides, these customs are so outdated." She gathered the cow's flesh and stood, beginning the long trek back to the village.

"Wait just a minute young lady!" Lydia froze, slightly tilting her left ear skyward. She heard something. Something rattling close by.

An arrow whistled by her ear with a whine. She chuckled at the skeleton's bad aim. Drawing her iron sword, Lydia charged at the skeleton, easily slicing it to pieces. But as she turned around, the bones knit themselves back together, reforming the skeleton. She cursed under her breath. Before Lydia could execute the precise blow to the skeleton's skull, a blood-curdling scream came from Grandmother. The old woman was surrounded by blood covered zombies. Sighing, the younger woman turned sword ready.

A sharp pain ran down Lydia's sword arm, causing her to drop said weapon. She looked back and saw the skeleton reloading its bow.

"Buggar…" she muttered. Gracefully, the teen ducked under another arrow and roundhouse kicked the skeleton's skull of his head. This time, it didn't put itself back together.

That still left the problem of the zombies. They head slowly gotten closer to the terrified woman. But with the arm injury, Lydia couldn't wield her sword with the power required to kill all the undead monsters.

A wolf erupted from the trees, his teeth bared. Then his master came out of the trees. He was tall with a lean muscular build. His shaggy blond hair curled slightly at the end and his gray eyes glinted with anger, even though his face was emotionless.

"Koda!" The Blonde commanded. "Attack." The wolf leapt over Lydia's head onto the zombies. He began tearing the beasts apart, one limb at a time. In less than a minute, the zombies were in pieces on the ground, disintegrating.

Grandmother collapsed to her knees, and fanned herself with her hand. She was pale and shaken, but otherwise unharmed. The stranger handed her a small flask of milk and some travel bread.

"Its not much but…here." He said flatly. He noticed Lydia struggling to get the arrow out of her arm. "Let me help you." He laid his hand on her and gripped the shaft, quickly pulling out the projectile. She let out a short gasp, then quickly composed herself.

"Thank you uh…"

"Casper."

"Pleasure to meet you! I'm Lydia." She said smiling. He kept the same uninterested look on his face. Grandmother shrieked.

"Lydia! You're bleeding!"

"Yes Grandmother. That's what happens when you get shot with an arrow." Lydia explained calmly, searching through her satchel for a bandage. Casper ripped a strip of cloth off the bottom of his cloak.

"Let me help you…again." He poured a small amount of water from his canteen on her wound to clean it and tied the strip of cloth around it. "That should keep it from getting infected."

She turned to thank him, but stopped when she looked into his eyes. They were now blank and emotionless, and vaguely familiar.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked. Lydia shook her head, hiding a slight blush with a smile.

"Uh no!" There was a slight pause. "Say, you're not from Burnadale are you?" He shook his head. She slung her satchel over her shoulder and grabbed his hand. "I'll show you then!"


	3. Chapter 3

Professor Oslo, a 40-year old man with salt and pepper hair and wire frame glasses, returned home to find Lydia, an old deceased friend's daughter, sitting at the table, talking to a strange blonde boy he'd never seen before. The blonde boy had a wolf sitting next to him on the floor.

Lydia saw the professor walk in and smiled.

"Professor!" She greeted. "How was your expedition trip?"

The professor set down his bag and said. "It was fine. Who's your friend?" The girl's face brightened more, if that was even possible.

"Oh! This is Casper! I met him in the woods today. I've been showing him around town." The professor sighed.

"Lydia, what have I told you about strangers?"BR "He's not a stranger! He saved Grandmother's life!" At this, the professor became more interested.

"Did he now? Tell me Casper, why did you do that?"

"I'd rather not answer that sir." Casper answered.

The professor sat down at the table and formed his hands into a pyramid.

"Tell me, do you have a place to live or a job?" Casper sat quietly for a moment.

"No sir, I do not." The professor smiled.

"Then make yourself at home." Casper looked at him quizzically.

"Tomorrow you begin working as my assistant." Lydia beamed at the news, immediately fawning over the professor's offer. Casper noticed, with some interest, how differently she acted around Grandmother and the professor.

"Now Lydia, I have some news you might find very interesting. But first, I am very tired and starving. What are we having for dinner?" Lydia's face fell.

"Oh uh." She paused, thinking. "Mushroom stew! That's what we'll, I mean, we're having!" The girl grabbed her bag and flew out the door, dragging Casper with her.

"Lydia! Slow down!" Casper shouted, stumbling as he was towed. She stopped, looking back at him with her large green eyes.

"We need to get mushrooms! I hadn't even thought about dinner until just then." Casper pried her grip from his arm.

"I'm sure we can walk to where ever we're getting the mushrooms."

Lydia nodded, and turned. The walked past several small houses, the town farm, and a low unfinished sandstone building, that Lydia explained as the soon to be general store. They headed into the forest, scanning the ground for red and brown mushrooms. While they searched Casper sighed.

"What's the matter?" Lydia asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the professor's 'offer'." He said, bypassing the question with a simple answer and a wave of his hand. He wasn't the type of person to spill their feelings and thoughts, especially to strangers.

"It's a wonderful offer, if I do say so myself." She pursed her lips. "He never offered me the job..." Casper immediately felt bad about how selfish he's been. A golden opportunity had just been handed to him on a silver platter and he was brooding about not wanting a job.

"Lydia, I didn't mean-" She shook her head.

"No, its fine. Just help me find some mushrooms."

When the two returned, Lydia practically scowled into the stew pot while she was cooking. Casper felt a twinge of guilt, which quickly changed to anger. He shouldn't be having such human emotions! He was above them!

Lydia set the bowls down on the table, coldly ignoring the other two. Professor Oslo cleared his throat.

"As I said, I have some interesting news." Lydia scowled into her bowl. He sighed. "In one weeks time, we shall be traveling to the Dwaven City of Stoneholm to meet a colleague of mine. He says he knows someone who could help investigate some ruins. He said the dwarf's name was Honeydew, and that he defeated Israphel or something." Lydia stopped scowling, her face becoming bright.

"Honeydew! The legendary hero! The savior of Minecraftia!" Casper glared at the name. Honeydew and Xephos had ruined his plan once, but they wouldn't this time.

"Yes I believe so. Oh and I received a message from Skylord Lysander. Or was it Amber? Jasper maybe? Whomever, that the newly appointed Skylord Lucy Starfire will be paying you a visit." Lydia glowed with excitement.

"Lucy's a skylord now? I haven't seen her since the desert days! Not since-" Her voice trailed. "Not since the fire." The professor forced a lighthearted smile.

"Well she'll be here in a few days and I want this place shining for her arrival!"

"But professor!" Lydia whined.

"Of course Sir" Casper cut in. The professor grinned and continued eating his stew.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy Starfire never was very good at flying planes. Airships on the other hand, were easy as pie to fly, but planes… The first time she flew a plane, she crashed into the ocean. The second time, she crashed into Jasper's mansion. The third time…well that's why Swampy Bogbeard hated deforestation. And this time, her twelfth time flying a plane, ended with her coughing up exhaust and Cold Mountain air.

"Lucy!" Lydia shrieked when she and Casper arrived at the crash.

"Lydia!" Lucy coughed. The blonde girl jumped out of the wreckage and went into another coughing fit. "Its great to see you." She said while wiping her soot covered hands on her white pants.

"I haven't seen you in years!" Lydia said as she hugged the shorter girl. "How was skylord training?"

"A pain in the arse I must say!" Lucy dramatically exclaimed. When she appeared to not be saying more, Lydia asked another question.

"Why were you flying a plane? What happened to Alonso? And how'd you even get a plane?" Lucy laughed maniacally.

"Stole it from Lysander." Lydia sighed, shaking her head as they walked through the small crowd that had gathered around the plane crash and young skylord.

"Oh! Hey! So I was doing some research-" The skylord was interrupted by Lydia's laughter.

"You? Research?" Lucy pursed her lips.

"Hey! I do research! Occasionally…Anyway, I was doing some research and found out that there's an abandoned tower up in the mountains. I hear its haunted!" Lydia gulped.

"Hehe, yeah right!" Her voice shook. Casper, who had been trailing behind the two, joined the conversation.

"Lucy, I think you should discuss this tower adventure you have planned with the professor." Lucy turned around and pursed her lips.

"And who are you exactly? Don't tell me your Lydia's new beau!" Casper's expression remained steely cool.

"Professor Oslo's assistant."

"His name is Casper." Lydia said. "He's not very sociable.

The three arrived at the Professor's house silently, Lucy having lost her excitement in Casper's words.

"Professor! We're home!" Lydia called. The professor's head appeared from the attic hatch. His eyes were tired from reading.

"Oh hello! I take it you're Lucy." He disappeared, then jumped through the hatch, landing in front of the teens.

"Please sit down. I'll make some tea."

Twenty minutes later, the four were sitting at the dining table chatting and drinking tea when Lucy asked the question on her and Lydia's mind.

"So professor, I did some research and found out about this, uh, tower up in the mountains. Would it be ok if I took Lydia with me?" Professor Oslo scratched the stubble forming on his chin.

"I suppose its fine…Lydia's capable of protecting herself."

"Awesome!" Lucy said. "Come on Lydia! Grab your bag!" Lucy pulled Lydia out of her chair and towards the door. Lydia barely had enough time to grab her satchel and sword. When the two girls were gone, the professor turned to Casper. His expression was easy to read.

"I'll go with them." Casper said, picking up a sword.

He buckled the sword round his waist and raced after the girls. Lucy seemed giddy with excitement while was hesitant. She reached into her bagged and pulled out a wooded flute with some type of writing on it. Casper immediately recognized the writing. It was the same as some of his books back home.

She didn't play the flute. Instead, she ran her hand up and down the writing, her eyes staring wistfully into the distance as she listened to Lucy's mindless chatter. Casper wondered why Lydia was so attached to such a useless piece of junk.

Lucy said something intelligent.

"Lydia, are you going to play that thing or are you just going to hold it?" Lydia blinked and starred at her friend.

"Oh. Uh…I guess I could play it…" She brought the flute to her lips and played a long mournful note. She then began playing a slow variation of a spring tune. The notes reverberated through the silent forest. Casper was impressed by how much she'd improved.

"Where did you learn how to play like that?" Lucy asked when Lydia finished her song.

"Twelve years ago. When we still lived in the desert…"

A seven year old Lydia skipped through the heard of cows that huddled together in Mr. Perkins' small ranch. She liked Mr. Perkins, but didn't like staying in the old house. She heard it was haunted. Her parents said Mr. Perkins' house wasn't haunted, but Lydia always heard moans coming from the attic.

Lydia's parents were scholars, always leaving with Mr. Oslo to places far from the desert. They brought her gifts when the returned, but it never made up for them leaving, sometimes without even telling the young girl.

But she liked the cows. They listened to her stories. The largest of the cows, Bernie, had just had her calf and was lying contently under one of the sparse birch trees. Lydia laid against Bernie's stomach.

"Bernie," Lydia complained. "Mama and Papa left again. I have to stay with Mr. Perkins for a few more weeks. Have I told you I think his house is haunted? But of course nobody believes me…"

"I believe you." A voice said from the top if the tree. Lydia looked up to see a man with a waist long platinum blond ponytail and a black coat. He wore a blue tie and had no eyes. Or his eyes were pure white.

"Who are you? I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. You're trespassing on Mr. Perkins' ranch!" Lydia starred at the man with doe eyes. The man smiled and jumped out of the tree, gracefully landing in front of the girl. Bernie mooed a warning.

"If you knew my name, I wouldn't be a stranger." He said. He bent down and extended his hand. "Herobrine." Lydia shook his hand.

"I'm Lydia! But you're still trespassing!"

"Josemy," that was Mr. Perkins' first name. "Knows me." Lydia continued staring at him. Herobrine smiled. "Its very nice to meet you Miss. Lydia."

For the weeks and months to follow, Lydia and Herobrine became friends, sitting under the birch and enjoying each other's company. Herobrine sometimes brought a wooden flute with him and played little tunes for the girl. Lydia loved the flute, with its strange inscriptions and hypnotic tune. One day, Lydia asked Herobrine a question she'd been dying to ask.

"Will you teach me how to play you flute, Mr. Herobrine?" He was taken aback by her sudden question. He milled over the question for a few minutes.

"Hmmm." He replied. "I don't see why not…" Lydia looked at him with her doe eyes.

"Please?" He sighed.

"Fine. But only a little!" She leapt up and flung her arms around Herobrine, smiling and shrieking with glee.

Lydia didn't say anything after her story, but her eyes said it all. She was hiding a painful memory. Instead, she silently followed Lucy through the forest.

By nightfall, Lydia was visibly shaking and they had reached their destination. A tower, perhaps four stories tall, made of obsidian and cobblestone, long since mossed over, loomed in front of the trio. The roof, high above their heads, was wooden and had once been painted purple. But the paint was cracked and pealing.

Lighting crackled in the sky and thunder boomed, heavy pelts of rain beginning to fall. The three teens shrieked [well the girls shrieked] and ran into the tower. Lanterns burned brightly and a fire roared in a marble fireplace. The tower had a single spiraling staircase to the left that led to the floor above. The walls of the bottom floor were lined with bookshelves packed tight with books and various nick-knacks.

A black and orange spotted cat trotted down the stairs followed by a young man with a dark blue robe and silvery hair braided down his back. He stopped short when he saw the tree wet teens.

"What are you doing here?" He shouted.


	5. Chapter 5

The man with the silver braid starred at the three intruders with horror. This horror quickly turned into disgust. He pointed to the short blond girl.

"You're a skylord." She stepped forward slightly.

"Yes I am! You have a problem with that?" her accent was heavily northern. The other girl, a taller redhead, pulled the blond girl back.

"It's alright Lucy. We'll just go back to-" A load clap of resonant thunder rumbled through the tower. The redhead girl jumped and clung to Lucy. The young blonde man, who was with the girls, spoke.

"Excuse me, but in this weather, it wouldn't be wise to travel through the forest, especially since its dark." The silver haired man thought this over. He gave the trio the once over and sighed.

"I suppose you're right. But I refuse to recant my last statement about skylords! They're analogous to pests; annoying and arrogant." He paused. "But I will be courteous and show some hospitality. My name is Orion. Orion Sidonis."

"You look like a wizard!" Lucy spat. "What do you do in this tower? Whisper incantations? Disenchant rings?" Orion stiffened.

"I'm an alchemist. There's a difference."

Th redhead girl, having recovered from her fit, stepped forward and smiled.

"I'm Lydia." She said, flashing and innocent smile and extending her hand. Orion reluctantly shook it. "This here," she gestured to the blonde man. "is Casper. And that," she threw her thumb in the brooding skylords direction. "is Lucy. She has a bit of a temper sometimes." Lucy mumbled something inaudible.

"Orion," Casper said. "If it's not too much to ask ,can you please provide use with something hot to drink and maybe some food." Orion nodded and walked back up the stairs, the black and orange cat on his heels. The other three followed.

The second floor of the tower seemed like a laboratory, the bookcases filled with bottles and vials and jars instead of books. A large copper cauldron hung just off center of the room. Orion walked over to a small chest and produced a jug of milk and a jar of cocoa beans. He poured them into a pot and placed them on the stove.

"Unfortunately, I only have some bread left food wise, but the hot beverages should be ready in a few minutes." He proceeded to lead his 'guests' to the small living room on the third floor.

Lydia sat down on one of the disused leather couches and attempted to force light-hearted conversation. It had no effect to cut through the heavy tension that had settled between the headstrong skylord and the silver haired alchemist. She pursed her lips, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Orion, why is your hair such an odd color?" Lydia asked cheerfully. As if to turn the pleasant small talk into an insult, Lucy injected her venomous words into Lydia's question.

" Yeah alchemist!" She said the word with contempt. "How did you get such an abnormal hair color?" Orion stiffened.

"I don't like to talk about it."

"Why?" Lucy leered. "Did the poor alchemist mess up his precious little potion?" Casper turned and looked at Lucy.

"Lucy. That's enough." He said, a steely cool edge to his voice. All dialogue in the small room receded, and an uncomfortable silence fell. This silence was broken by a loud dissonance downstairs, followed by a high pitched whine.

"Ah!" Orion shouted, covering his ears. "My auditory senses!"

"You could just say your ears you idiot!" Lucy screamed, her hands also over her ears. The four teens ran downstairs to the first floor where the door had been blasted open and a woman in a flowing purple gown stood.

'Medusa.' Casper thought. 'What is she doing here? She's supposed to be at the palace!'

The whine died into a hum and Orion, Lucy and Casper pulled out their iron swords. Lydia notched an arrow in her gilded bow. The woman laughed.

"Oh please darlings. Those aren't necessary. We're all civilized adults here." He voice had the assonance of a snake, dry and papery.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Orion shouted, raising his sword. The woman laughed again.

"The alchemist thinks he can wield a sword." She sneered. "How cute." Orion lunged, his sword high above his head. The woman scoffed and thrusted her hand in his direction. A blast of energy knocked him back into the wall, books tumbling onto his head, Casper rolled his eyes.

'Idiot.' He thought. 'Humans can't land a hit on any of my minions.' He waved his hand and time froze around him and the woman,

"Medusa! What the hell! Why are you here?" He shouted. The woman casually brushed a glossy black curl from her face with a perfectly manicured finger.

"Oh just visiting my nephew."

"Loving aunts don't blast their nephews into walls." Casper replied through gritted teeth. Medusa grinned.

"I never really liked him…Unthankful little brat." Casper glared. "Ok. Ok. You caught me. I wanted to make sure my dear master hadn't gotten sidetracked from his plan."

"Medusa, I am not a child and you are not my mother. You work for me. You always will. Now go back to the palace." Casper said, unaware that Medusa was lying. She mock bowed.

"Of course…Herobrine." Casper almost noticeably stiffened.

"This conversation is over Medusa." He waved his hand and time unfroze.

"Orion!" Lucy shouted. She advanced toward Medusa, but Casper held her back. Medusa waved her hand and Lydia crumpled to the floor screaming.

"That was just a prologue of what's to come. A taste of my master's true power!" Medusa shouted. There was a bright flash of purple light and Medusas disappeared.

Lydia was still on the floor, curled up in a ball and shaking violently. Lucy rushed to her side, tears in her eyes,

"Lydia! Lydia wake up!" Lucy screamed. Casper rested his hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"You can't reach her. The only think we can do is pray that the magic used wasn't strong enough to kill her from the inside."


	6. Chapter 6

Lydia was back in time. A time almost a year and a half ago in fact. She was back in her old desert village, in Town Square where her parent's shop was. Her parent's were cooking lunch in the house above the shop.

Lucy was with her, bantering as usual. She shook Lydia's arm.

"Lydia! Are you even listening to me?" Lydia shook her head slowly, dazed. Lucy sighed in frustration, her eyes glowering angrily. "I said," She recited slowly. "That I'll be leaving this afternoon for skylord training." Lydia stared at her companion in confusion, trying to comprehend what was happening.

Lucy and Lydia didn't see eye-to-eye, regarding most decisions with discord, but they always stuck together. And now Lucy was leaving, probably forever. There was a clawing ache in her heart.

I should be happy, Lydia though, but all I fear is despair. Despite her growing loneliness, she responded cheerfully.

"Lucy that's wonderful! You'll be an amazing Skylord! You're already great at flying Alonso." Alonso was the Pegasus they had found when they were 13, three years after they'd met.

The soon to be Skylord flung herself around her long time friend and said her good-byes, before running off to her family home to pack her belongings. And once again, Lydia was alone. She wiped her moist eyes. The sun was still low in the sky, and instead of returning to her parents for Lunch, she ran to Mr., Perkins' ranch.

The birch tree that had been her childhood refuge stood tall and proud like it always had. Bernie has died years ago, nut her calf Bea, was lying under the tree, content and benign. Lydia laid next to Bea on the sandy soil. Small pinpoints of sunshine wove their was through the dense leaves that hung high above the ground.

"Oh Bea, what could I do? I wanted to tell her to stay, but I had to be polite! Besides, it was clear her mind was made up." She sighed.

A few hours later, she heard crunching footsteps coming up the hill. The man walking up the path was wearing a long black dress coat, black slacks, a white button down shirt, and a black tie. The black of his clothes was shiny and fine, like he'd just come from a funeral. His once shiny black boots were dusty gray from walking through the dry landscape of the desert. He had waist-long platinum blond hair and lifeless white eyes. He stopped when he saw the redhead teen lying on under the tree.

"Lydia!" He stared, in open surprise. "Why are you here? Is Lucy here?" Lydia sat up and crossed her arms defiantly.

"I'll have you know, Herobrine, I'm here on my own accord" She paused. "Wait, how do you know Lucy?" Herobrine's eyes lit up mischievously.

"As you got older, it became rather improper for you, a long lady, to be seen socializing with me, a much older gentleman." Lydia's cheeks flared in embarrassment. "So I preformed a little divine intervention and had Lucy's family move to the desert." Lydia spied a horse shoot into the sky, Lucy's hair waving wildly in the wind.

"Well she's gone now." Lydia muttered grimly. Herobrine shrugged.

"Couldn't be helped."

"What do you mean, 'couldn't be helped'!" She said with venom. "You brought her here! You could've kept her here!"

"I prefer to let action take its course. Too much intervention and fate itself is questioned. I took a large risk bringing her to begin with..." He grinned. "Besides, being the malevolent spirit that I am, I enjoy seeing some suffering once in a while." Lydia turned, her eyes stinging from unshed tears.

She had known this man for ten years. She thought of him as her guardian angel, always there to protect her. Maybe her hopes were too high. Maybe she enjoyed acting like a naive child. But despite how much she learned or how much her parents taught her, she could never shake the thought that Herobrine was an angel meant to protect her, and possibly, save her.

Lydia gazed down at the village, the streets buzzing with uncharacteristic excitement. The War if the Sands was over and the town was no longer in danger of the threatening infection spreading though the sandy plains. But there was still an air of tension settled over the town.

Suddenly, one of the buildings in Town Square burst into a column of flame and black smoke. Lydia gasped in horror, surging to her feet. Then, the shop across the street erupted in flames as well. Within seconds, the whole village was being consumed by fire. Lydia stood riveted in place, gaping at the carnage unraveling before her. Screams of pain and death drifted across the ranch to the birch tree.

Lydia became untransfixed and began running to the destruction. The only thing she could think about was saving her parents. Herobrine lunged for Lydia and grabbed her from around the waist. She pounded on his arm.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She screamed. "My parents are down there!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Please try to stay calm." Herobrine said. She only thrashed harder.

"Calm? You want me to stay calm! You must be crazy!" She shouted.

"Not as crazy as the divine being who though humans needed to be more spirited." He muttered. "Oh wait that was me..." He pulled Lydia closer to the birch. "Listen to me! You can't do anything! If you go down there, you'll only get killed." Something else is controlling those murderous flames, Herobrine thought. He tried turning Lydia away, but not before she saw a ghastly white figure, it's eyes red and lustful for death. She buried her head in Herobrine's chest and cried until the sun hung low in the sky and the desert air began to chill.

Lydia woke with a start and quickly glanced around the room. The walls were faded purple and an orange and black cat sat at her feet staring at her. She must have been in Orion's room at his tower.

It was her, Lydia thought. That horrible woman in purple who threw Orion against the wall. She had reached into Lydia's soul and pulled out her deepest and most painful memories, throwing them into her face like salt on a wound.

Lydia buried her face into Orion's soft cotton pillows and cried until her head swam and she fell into a dreamless slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

Orion, Lucy, and Casper sat in the living room in an uncomfortable silence that was only broken by the rhythmic ticking of an old grandfather clock in the corner. Orion sat sprawled on the leather couch, his head buzzing, but his glare venomous all the same. The receiver of the icy star sat on the velvet couch opposite, her slender legs folded over each other. Casper leaned against the wall, impatiently waiting.

Lucy opened her mouth to speck, but a quick glance at Casper's disapproving scowl glued her lips shut. The water dawn light drearily dripped through the small windows; a depressing reminder that Lydia was not yet awake and the professor would be worried that they hadn't returned. Not to mention that Stoneholm was a day and a half walk from Burnadale and Professor Oslo had planned to arrive at the Dwaven City by the following afternoon.

Casper peeled himself from the wall and strode across the room to the spiral staircase. "I'm going to check on Lydia." As he said this, Orion's black and orange cat came bounding down the stairs.

"No need," Orion said from the couch. "She's already awake."

As if on cue, Lydia came walking down the stairs, her eyes red and slightly puffy, but her face a mask of determination. Her hair was in disarray and her leather tunic was crumpled along the hem. Her green eyes were still moist, but they scream authority. Lucy broke off the glaring for a moment to address Lydia.

"Lydia, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Lydia brushed away a wisp of red-orange hair from her face.

"Whatever that woman did is done. There are more pressing matters than sitting in a bed, wasting time. The professor will be ready to go by the time we even get to his house. He will be disappointed if he has to wait." She looked pointedly at Orion. "You'll be coming with us." He sprang up in anger, but collapsed back onto the couch in a wave of dizziness.

"The hell I will! There's no way I'm going anywhere with that arrogant, self-centered skylord!" Lucy's hand clenched into a tight fist.

"I feel the same way about you, you spineless, alchemic imbecile!" They began arguing.

"Shut it!" Lydia shouted. "If you two will argue like this the whole time, I'll slap you both until my hand goes numb!" Both offending parties clamped their mouths shut. "Orion's coming with us in case that woman comes back. It's obvious she wanted something of yours." The silver-haired alchemist's hand flew to the red pendent around his neck, most likely the most valuable thing he owned. His dark blue eyes were clouded.

"My tower is perfectly capable of protecting me." He said plainly.

"I don't know if you noticed, but your front door was blasted door!" Lydia exclaimed, growing tired of his defiance. To this the alchemist has no reply. He simply crossed his arms and sat stoically.

"Casper, we're leaving. Where's my bag?"

Most of the city of Stoneholm was underground, where the lighting came mostly from lava and torches. There was a central courtyard that led to a mountain where the main entrance was actually a door to a half a dozen downward leading staircases. These staircases opened up to an underground square where a shop, inn, and blacksmith were, along with tunnels that most likely led to individual house/caves.

Three people greeted the group of five. The first man was as tall as Lydia, maybe 5' 7", and had a long orange beard. He was wearing a pair of low rise black trousers, and iron shoulder and knee plates. The man next to him was obviously a dwarf, not even as tall as Lucy. He looked like he could be the redhead man's cousin, except the dwarf's skin was a sickly green-gray and he had a howl going strait through him. The last man stood at a little more than 6' and was wearing a tight black and maroon suit. His dark brown hair was slicked back with a single curled bang. The dwarf introduced himself.

"I'm Spacker." He said with a heavy dwarven accent. "These two are Honeydew and Xephos. They're the two who saw the ruins I told you about." He turned to the redhead man. "Honeydew, why don't you show those four to their rooms at the inn. Xephos and I will discuss the excavation for the day after tomorrow with the professor." Professor Oslo cut in.

"Excuse me, but why aren't we staring the excavation tomorrow?"

"Because the new king's coronation is tomorrow." Honeydew explained. His accent wasn't as pronounced as Spacker's. Perfect, Casper thought; no one will be armed. Professor Oslo nodded like he understood.

While Spacker and Xephos led the professor to a giant anvil with a map on it, Honeydew escorted the four teens to the inn. The doors however, were locked. A note on the door read, 'Gone out to collect wood. If it's Moria reading this, the spare key to the chest is in my house. –Rory'.

"Didn't have to lock the bloody inn!" Honeydew called, as if the innkeeper was inside hiding. He plopped down in front of the door and pulled the diamond pick from the holster on his back. "Well," He yawned. "Nothin' to do but wait I suppose." Lydia gingerly sat down next to him, her legs folded Indian style.

"Pardon me for asking, but I heard that the last king, King Finbar, died almost two years ago. Why are you just now appointing a new one?" Honeydew scratched the back of his head with his pick.

"Don't know actually. I've been helpin' rebuild New Mistral." Casper leaned against the inn wall.

"Well aren't you useless." He scoffed under his breath.

"Now don't be saying that to a dwarf." Honeydew said, pointing his pick. Lydia twisted behind her and laid a hand on Casper's leg.

"Casper please." He said his next statement anyway.

"You're too tall to be a dwarf. I'd say you're only half dwarf. On your…father's side." Honeydew's face was red with anger. He sprang to his feet and shaved the blade of his pickaxe under Casper's chin.

"Are you insulting me boy?" Casper stared into the half-dwarf's coal black eyes with his own pale gray ones. They grew colder and paler, the pupils lightening in hue until Casper's eyes were almost pure white.

"All the hardships you faced against Israphel is nothing compared to what's to come." Casper said in a low voice that only Honeydew could hear, his lips barely moving. "I would advice you not to make an enemy out of me." Honeydew's eyes were wide. "Now you're going to lower that pick and pretend I never said anything to you." The bearded man's narrowed and he pulled his pick away in mock disgust. Casper's eyes returned to normal and a slight smile played on his lips.

Lucy laid on her bed in she and Lydia's room at the inn, reading a small colorful book. The door to their small bathroom opened, and Lydia stepped out in a cloud of steam, wrapped in a think black towel. She grabbed her loose cotton pants and camisole from the closet and went behind the screen in the corner to change.

"So Lydia," The blond called from her bed. "I was looking though the clothes you brought-" Lydia leaned her head out from around the screen and gave Lucy a disapproving look. "-and I noticed that you don't have anything to wear for the coronation." The ginger sighed.

"Of course not. I thought we were going to be digging not celebrating. The only thing I brought was tunics and leggings." The black towel flew over the top of the screen.

Lucy pulled out a charcoal pencil and scribbled something in her book.

"Well it's a good thing I packed an extra dress. It's white though. Hope you don't mind." Lydia walked out from behind the screen, her rusty hair looking almost black. She plopped onto Lucy's bed.

"You know I hate dresses." The young skylord gave her a knowing look. "But I guess one day in a dress wont kill me."


	8. Chapter 8

The King's coronation took place outside the stone city, in the courtyard. A large wooden stage had been set up with a wooden throne painted gold sitting on it. Next to the throne was a pedestal with an iron helmet inlaid with various jewels and gold designs. Dozens of dwarves were crowded around in a circle. Standing in the middle of the circle was a dwarf with a salt and pepper beard and a brass colored cloak draped on him shoulders.

Besides the native dwarves, there was also humans attending the coronation. They stood together in different groups and it was easy for Lydia and Lucy to tell whom each group consisted of.

One group had a woman with long dark curly hair. Next to her was a robot with a red and white striped shirt. The last member of the group had an eye patch over each eye and a slim greyhound at his feet.

"Pirates." Lucy said.

The next group Lydia's eyes skimmed across was a trio standing close together with one man standing slightly away. Two of them had their fingers interlaced; a woman in a dark green dress with a butter yellow braid over her shoulder and a man who looked a little too old for the young woman with a white shirt and a brown vest. The man they were talking to was even older than the man in the vest. He had a blue rode similar to Orion's except covered in stars, and a white beard. The man standing slightly away looked exactly like the man in the blue robe. His white hair was tangled with leaves and twigs and his hand-woven wool tunic was streaked with mud.

"Mr. and Mrs. Peculier and the unloving brothers Fumblemore and Swampy." Lydia said in awe. Lucy rolled her eyes.

Th last group was another trio, one weary eyed woman, a flamboyant bald man, and a stoic man with a whole head of flowing black hair. Lucy let out a strangled cry.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god." She said, dashing behind Lydia. "It's the Skylords." Unfortunately, the black haired man turned and saw Lucy peaking over Lydia's shoulder. His gaze grew hard as her excused himself from the other two and walked over to the two girls. Lucy shuddered slightly. Lydia smiled politely.

"Hello." Lydia greeted. The black haired man nodded to her.

"Lucy." He said coldly.

"Yes Lysander?" She said, sheepishly coming out from behind her friend.

"My plane?" Lucy shuffled from foot to foot.

"Uh well you see…" She hesitated. Lysander grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to the other Skylords.

Lydia sighed and gave a silent prayer to her doomed friend. She glanced around the courtyard, looking for Casper. She was beginning to really enjoy spending time with him. But to her dismay, didn't see him anywhere. Instead, she walked over to where Professor Oslo was standing with Honeydew and Xephos, chatting. Spacker wasn't with them.

Honeydew was talking frantically.

"I swear, his eyes were almost pure white. They were so cold looking! But what he told was almost a waning. Like he really didn't want us to interfere." Xephos looked at his friend like he was crazy.

"I admit, there was something a little odd about him when I first met him, but Lydia seemed perfectly fine with him…" Professor Oslo noticed Lydia standing next to him. "Oh Lydia. We were just talking about you."

She faked a smile and the adults continued their conversation, almost oblivious to her standing with them. Her brain whirled at a hundred miles an hour. They were obviously talking about Casper, but Casper didn't have pure white eyes. His eyes were a mysterious stormy gray. The only person she knew with pure white eyes was…No! She would not think about him. It was too painful. Too raw of an emotion.

She silently walked away to the outskirts of the party. Her eyes smarted with tears. Lydia felt very vulnerable, standing in plain sight with her borrowed white dress that only came to her knees and shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot. She didn't know why she was so nervous, she just knew she had to find Casper; find some sort of comfort.

"What are you doing away from the party?" Someone said from behind her. Lydia's back went ramrod strait as she turned around. Orion stood behind her, but instead of his blue robe, he had black trousers and a grayish blue turtleneck sweater. His red pendent hung from his neck along with a small pair of reading glasses on a chain.

"I could ask you the same thing." Orion shrugged.

"Never really liked parties and festivals. My mom didn't like socializing so we never did." He didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. His presence alone set Lydia's mind at ease. She relaxed.

Across the courtyard were three stripped tents, each with a different person standing in front of each. Lydia smiled. She loved carnivals. Maybe there was a fortuneteller.

"Hey Orion, will you come to that carnival with me?" The alchemist rolled back his shoulders.

"No, but you'll probably drag me there anyway."

They weren't half way through the crowd when someone from the stage made an announcement.

"Ladies and dwarves, I present to you, King Iwan!" The brass cloaked dwarf sat done on the gold throne and the crowd cheered. The dwarf that had made the announcement placed the helmet on the King's head. There was more cheering. The attendant left and the new King sat upon the wooden throne in mighty splendor.

Someone stepped out from behind the throne. It was Casper, his golden hair pulled into a loose ponytail. A large sword hung at his belt. His gray eyes looked very cold. He stepped in front of the King and bowed.

"You have my condolences, your majesty." He said, load enough for everyone to hear.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The King said, his eyes narrowed.

"My mortal name is Casper, but the name given to me by my mother is Herobrine." Most of the crowd gasped and broke out into concerned murmurs. "As to what I want," He drew his sword and laid the flat of the black obsidian blade against the King's neck, so the edge of the blade was against his jaw. "It's quite simple."

"I've heard of 'Herobrine' and you don't look anything like him. Guards, take this nutcase away." Two extremely burly dwarves made their way onto the stage. Herobrine merely waved his hand and the two guards froze.

"I suppose I have grown a bit accustomed to this form. Being mortal has its advantages." His golden blond hair paled to silvery platinum and lengthened until it reached his trim hips. The once gray irises of his eyes shimmered and turned pure white.

"What are your demands Herobrine?" The King said with contempt.

"They're simple. So simple in fact, that even the imbeciles in this crowd could fulfil them." The King gritted his teeth. "Firstly, I want a bottle of your finest ale for later. Secondly, I want Honeydew and Xephos locked in a cell immediately so they can't follow me. They mess everything up. At dawn tomorrow, I suppose you can release them." No one moved toward the heroes. Herobrine rolled his eyes. Unfreezing the two guards, he jerked his hand around controlling them. He moved them to Honeydew and Xephos and made them pin the hero's arms to their sides and lead them to the underground city. "Finally, for the real reason I'm here. There is someone here who is necessary to my master plan."

"And who, pray tell, is that?" The King said, keeping a steely cold demeanor. Herobrine swept the crowd with his gaze.

"Her." He said pointing at Lydia. A ghost of a smile played across his lips.

Orion stepped in front of Lydia protectively.

"Over my dead body." He said.

"I'd hate to have to kill you Orion. So if you'd please step aside."

"Never." The alchemist hissed. Herobrine sighed and raised his hand, jerking his fingers in an intricate problem. Nothing happened. His eyebrows drew together.

"Damn alchemist." He muttered. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." He raised his hand again and a red glow of energy farmed around it. But before he could release the energy blast, Lydia pushed her way in front of Orion and yelled.

"Stop it! You're not killing Orion, Herobrine." Herobrine lowered his hand.

"What's stopping me?"

"I'll go with you. Willingly." Tears welled in her eyes. "Just don't hurt anyone." He shrugged.

"Alright. It's a deal." She slowly made her way through the crowd and climbed the stage. "Hello Lydia." He said grinning. She didn't respond. Herobrine gestured to his right and a portal appeared. He bowed to the King. "Your majesty." Grabbing Lydia by the waist, he jumped through the portal, and both him and the hellgate disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

The white eyed god walked into the guest's rooms carrying a tray of coffee and sweet bread. He strolled to her bedroom and, balancing the tray on his forearm, opened the door. She was still asleep. She had passed out as soon as they entered the Nether. Definitely an unexpected reaction, but nothing too serious.

He set down the tray and studied her sleeping form. Her face was a serene pale oval and her mouth curved into a natural smile. Her silken red-orange hair draped around her head and pillow. She had a graceful calm about her that she didn't have when she was awake. It was nice. She was nice. And she didn't deserve to be in the position she was in.

He whistled softly and a small silverfish quietly scuttled into the room. It looked up at him with adorably large black eyes. The white eyed god smiled warmly as he petted the small creature. It waved its tail wildly. He waved his hand over the silverfish, changing it into an orange and black kitten. He laid the silverfish/kitten on the bed next to her and sat down in the overstuffed chair in the corner, waiting.

It was difficult for Lydia to wake up. The bed was so soft and the sheets were so smooth against her skin. But no matter how comfortable she was, she had to wake up. She didn't know why, she just had to. Something fluffy rubbed against her cheek. Maybe she was in Orion's tower and the past 2 days was just a nightmare. She opened her heavy eyelids and looked at the little creature that sat in front of her face. It wrinkled It's small nose and jumped into someone's waiting hand. Rubbing her eyes, Lydia sat up and looked around.

The room she was in was painted a soft powder blue. The bed was of normal sized, but the blankets were velvet and the sheets were satin. A tray with steaming beverages and bread sat on a low table. There was an overstuffed chair in the corner. But it was who sat in the chair that caught Lydia's eye.

Herobrine had his thin, pinstripe slacks clad legs crossed and was casually stroking the kitten's fur with his long, tapered fingers. His white button down shirt had been recently pressed and he had a diamond tie-pin for his emerald green tie. He smiled a lazy smile.

"Good morning darling."

"Don't call me that." Lydia said even though her heart fluttered ever so slightly.

"I just thought I'd bring you some breakfast and a…" He looked at the kitten in his hand like he didn't know what to call it. "companion." He let the kitten jump back onto the bed before standing up to his height of over 6 feet, and smoothing the lines on his pants. He wasn't wearing his coat.

"It's warm in her." The young woman noted. "Are we in the Nether?" Herobrine shook his head.

"No, we're in the overworld. I hate the heat of the Nether, so I don't live there. I use the portals merely for travel." He grinned. "Besides, I wouldn't make a delicate flower such as you wither in such heat." He began striding across the room to the door. "There are several more rooms in this wing of my castle that you are allowed to use freely. Someone will be around with lunch and dinner if I am not back by then."

"Where are you going?" She demanded. He hesitated at the door.

"There is someone I have to visit." That's all her said before swishing out of the room.

The basement of his palace was where Herobrine kept a special deactivated portal. It was exactly like a hellgate, except it was made of glowstone. He picked up a bucket of water that sat next to the gate and tossed the liquid through. It hovered in the middle of the frame before expanding into a glowing blue sheet. Sighing, he stepped through the portal to the wondrous land beyond.

The Aether was like the overworld, but in pastels. The grasses were paler green and the trees of Notch's courtyard were covered in paper thin gold leaves. A ghost servant happened to be walking by when the white eyed god appeared through the portal. It dropped the tray of tea it was carrying in shock. The pot and china broke with a clang.

Herobrine waved his hand and the pot and tray returned themselves, unbroken to the servants shaking hands.

"Is your master taking tea right now?" It nodded fervently, it's eyes wide with fear. "Perfect. Will you escort me to where he is?" The ghost nodded again. Herobrine forced a polite smile as the servant led him to his older brother's study.

The study was a dimly lit room with a large polished wooden desk and high back chairs upholstered with dark leather imported from the overworld. A stocky man who'd fit the desk perfectly, stood looking out the window at a valkarie temple. The servant stopped at the door and cleared its throat.

"Excuse me, Lord Notch, you have a visitor." The man at the window grunted and the ghost quietly set the tray on the desk. It bowed respectively and scurried out of the room.

Despite being brothers, Herobrine and Notch weren't alike in any way. Their mother, the first being, had created Notch from the bubbling blackness in which she dwelled, while she created Herobrine from thought. They weren't but a few days old when their mother demanded them to create a world where they could live. Together, they created the overworld, a diverse land of stone, dirt, and sand. But their mother wasn't satisfied. To please her, each brother created something for the land. Herobrine made minerals and underground resources. Notch made trees and plants. Their mother was far more impressed by the older brother's creation and therefore, praised him.

Herobrine was enraged and, in attempt to gain his mother's praise, created lava to light and heat the world when the sunset each night. But the lava lit the trees and plants on fire. To save her son's creation, the mother ordered Notch to create something to destroy the lava.

The older brother created water and the land flourished with life. Animals appeared and grazed on the land. And, as if having created animals wasn't enough, Notch impressed their mother even more by creating the first humans out of clay.

Herobrine was beyond enraged. He was downright furious. His mother paid him no head and his brother was purposely trying to outshine him. In attempt to create better humans, Herobrine created zombies, skeletons, creepers, zombie pigmen, and ghasts. Horrified by what his brother had created, Notch helped his brother create a world to imprison the monsters. This world became known as the Nether.

Then Notch created the Aether for him and his mother lo live since the overworld was getting crowded with humans. They offered to let Herobrine live with them, despite his mistakes. He refused, saying he wouldn't return until he could impress his mother with his actions.

And now he was in the Aether, sitting across from his brother, enjoying a nice cup of tea.

"So what brings you to my humble home?" Notch asked sipping his tea.

"I would hardly call this place humble…" Herobrine muttered. "I've come for tea of course. Can I not enjoy such luxuries with my brother?" Notch set down his cup and leaned on the desk, his fingers arched in a pyramid.

"We both know that's not true." The younger brother sighed and scratched his head, not saying anything. "Your hair has gotten long."

"Yeah…" He replied absentmindedly. "I don't have time to cut it."

"Why don't you just wave your hand and make it disappear?" The older brother chuckled. The younger one shrugged. Notch rang a small bell and a servant trotted in. "Shears please." It bowed and ran off.

Herobrine looked at his brother. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Replied the brother. "Now tell me the real reason you're here." Herobrine sighed through his nose and rested his head in his hands.

"I don't know what to do." Notch didn't reply so Herobrine elaborated. "My right hand man has gone missing, Medusa is trying to take my powers and take over the world or something, and Lydia hates me. Not to mention because of you, Lydia's probably going to be sacrificed or something!"

"Now why would it be my fault that this girl is going to be sacrificed?" The older brother asked, grinning slightly.

"Because you had to go and give her your stupid blessing!" The younger one practically shouted.

"And?"

"'Only the blood of the blessed can refine the pearl that will open the sacred gate'…" Herobrine recited, quoting the ancient text they had written when they found the other dimension.

"Ah!" Notch said wistfully, his voice filled with nostalgia. "I remember when we found that dimension! At the time when we sealed it, it seemed so dramatic to have a sacrifice. Now it just seems unnecessarily silly."

"Brother, I don't think you understand the trouble I'm in…" The younger said, raking a hand through his bangs. The older stood and retrieved the shears from the servant who just returned.

"Now I think you might be overreacting." He said, stepping behind his brother. "This Medusa can't actually make the pearl. She'd have to be an alchemist." He carefully grabbed Herobrine's ponytail and, in one fluid motion, chopped it off.

"She is an alchemist, actually-Wait!" Herobrine whirled around, his now short hair barely moving. "Did you have to cut my hair off?" Notch ignored him.

"So you do have an alchemist under your command." He said with interest, sitting back in his chair.

"Had." Herobrine corrected. "Well, now that I think about it, she probably never listened to me to begin with."

"Well." The older said, scratching his short beard. "It seems like you have the situation under control." The younger rolled his eyes and continued sipping his tea.

Lydia and her new kitten friend were in the sitting room Herobrine had given them, reading a book. The kitten was lazily sleeping in Lydia's lap. She was flipping the pages when there was a knock at the door.

"I hope that's lunch." She mumbled, getting out of the comfy chair and opening the door. The person behind the door, however, was not a servant carrying a tray of food, but the woman with the glossy black curls.

"Hello my dear." She said in a silky voice. Before Lydia could react, something hit her in the back of the head and she fell to the floor in a heap. A skeleton with a large book bowed to the woman.

"Good job captain." She said. The skeleton bowed again.

"Thank you milady." She carefully walked over to where the kitten sat cowering on the chair. She grabbed it roughly by the scruff of its neck.

"Tell your master he has failed. And that I, Medusa Sidonis, the true heir to the Sidonis family, have won." She tossed it aside and strutted out of the room, the skeleton captain flowing with the unconscious body of Lydia.


	10. Chapter 10

Honeydew and Xephos had been let out of the Stoneholm dungeon right after Herobrine had left. The dwarves fawned over the King, confirming her was ok. In desperation, King Iwan ordered all of the dwarves, save Spacker who was his assistant, into Stoneholm. This left only the humans in the courtyard.

The man in the brown vest, Knight Peculiar, spoke up.

"What do we do?" His wife Daisy laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to save that poor girl. There's no telling what HE has planned for her." The weary eyed Skylord Amber smiled politely.

"Mr. and Mrs. Peculiar, why don't you two stay in Stoneholm and relax. You've been through a lot." The couple let the skylord lead them into the stone city.

"Professor," Xephos said calmly. "Do you remember anything that might help us figure out what Herobrine's plan is?" The grief stricken professor shook his head.

"No…He was so normal, if a bit cold…He even saved the town's elder's life…And Lydia…She liked him so much…" Xephos nodded in understanding.

"Why don't you stay in the city with the Peculiars." The professor nodded and walked with Xephos to the city entrance. "Don't worry, we'll save your daughter."

"But she's not my daughter…" Professor Oslo muttered.

Lysander decided to take charge and gathered everyone around him. All in all there were 12 people. A meager force against a god, but the only thing they could do. He looked at the grim faces of his friends and the hope inside of him grew dimmer. But behind their faces, in their eyes, were anger, worry, and determination. And the glimmers of hope that he was slowly loosing, was clear in their eyes.

"We're stopping Herobrine. And we're saving the girl." He said.

"And how arrrre we sssupossed to do thaat?" The dark haired pirate Isabel Peculiar asked in a slurred speech. Lysander paused for a moment.

"Israphel appeared places, taunting us. He was always there, breathing down our necks. But Herobrine won't be doing that. He'll wait until the perfect moment."

"That doesn't answer how we're going to find him." Pirate Tinman said in a highly robot voice. Everyone was silent. Then Lucy thought of something.

"Did anyone notice how pale he was? Or how wrinkle free his skin was?" Orion, who was standing next to her, scoffed.

"Nobody notices things like that." Lucy pursed her lips, trying to keep her temper in check.

"I'm only saying that a person with such a pale complexion wouldn't have gotten that skin by spending all his time in the hot Nether. So we can infer he's in the overworld." Orion rolled his eyes, silently admiring her logical thinking. Lysander nodded.

"Makes sense. All right! We'll split up into groups and search the overworld."

"We still don't know what we're looking for!" Isabel said, a little loader that necessary.

"Anything that might seem suspicious." He pointed to different people, assigning groups. "We leave immediately!"

"Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow." Skylord Amber said, noting the state of drunkenness the pirates and Honeydew were in.

Herobrine was furious, worried, and desperate all at the same time. He was angry with himself for not taking Lydia to the Aether with him. He was worried because now Medusa was one step closed to killing Lydia and refining the pearl. He was desperate because he couldn't storm Medusa's palace by himself, and he didn't have anyone to ask for help. He could ask Notch, but that would just be an insult to his pride.

_Pride, _Herobrine thought, _such a trivial thing. I care so much about it, but what do I have to be proud of? A power crazy henchman? Creatures of mass destruction? A crumbling mask of emotionlessness? _He stopped pacing. _Emotions. Do I even have them? I must. Every time I'm around Lydia, there is this weird feeling in my chest. Is it an illness? No it can't be. It has to be an emotion. It can't be anything else. But what is this feeling?_

He decided he had no choice. Changing from his perfect pinstripe slacks to slim cotton trousers and his impeccable leather shoes to lightweight, mud-streaked boots, he clipped his obsidian sword to his hip. He sighed and ran a hand through his now short hair. Then he stepped through the first of two portals.

Herobrine didn't know what he was expecting when he emerged from the second portal. Chaos perhaps? Complete disorganization? Whatever it was, it wasn't people standing around in groups, perfectly calm and collected. Or at least they were until Herobrine stepped though the portal.

Honeydew was the first to react. He pulled his diamond pick from his back and threw it at Herobrine. The tip of the sharp blade grazed the god's shoulder and deep red blood soaked through his crisp white shirt. He looked at the stain and sighed through his nose.

"This is my favorite shirt." He flicked at his shoulder like there was a speck of dirt and the blood flew off his shirt in droplets. The cut flesh knit itself together.

"What do you want?" Xephos said, drawing a glowing blue sword. Herobrine glanced behind to see if the portal was still activated. Unfortunately, Honeydew's pickaxe had hit the portal frame and chipped it, causing it to deactivate. He turned back to the humans.

"Why do you always assume I want something?" Herobrine said stalling.

"Why else would you be here?" Orion said.

"I like you Orion. Don't make me regret that."

"Just tell us what you want." Xephos demanded, leveling his glowing sword point against the god's throat.

"Go ahead. Cut my throat out. It'll save me the embarrassment." Lucy stepped forward slightly and spoke up.

"Hold on. Why would he be embarrassed if about making demands? He must not want anything." Orion rolled his dark blue eyes.

"It's just an expression Lucy." He said, again admiring her logical thinking. The young blond skylord opened her mouth to retort, but blinked in confusion. He had called her Lucy.

"Um…" She stammered. "W-well if her doesn't want anything, he must need something."

"He's a god!" Honeydew shouted. "What could he possibly need from us?" Herobrine muttered something. Xephos shoved his blade farther into Herobrine's throat. A small trickle of blood red ran down his neck.

"What did you say?" Xephos prompted.

"Help!" The god gasped. "I need your help." With the spaceman's blade still at his throat, he explained Medusa's plan to the get to the End, the dimension he and Notch had found. He also explained how if they didn't help him, Lydia could be killed.

"How do we know she isn't already dead?" Pirate Tinman asked. Herobrine grinned like a madman.

"The flute." Everyone just stared at him. "Every time she played it, a new layer of protective magic surrounded her." His grin faded. "When I gave her the flute…. I didn't think…. I didn't think anything of it…. But it's the only thing keeping her alive…"Everyone was silent for a moment, like they're were saying their last prayers.

"What does Medusa plan to do in the End?" Orion asked.

"I-I don't know…" Herobrine said. But he did know. She was going to use her alchemic powers to merge her soul with that of the Enderdragon, the ruler of the End. Then she would use this bond to control the inhabitants of the End, the Endermen, and lead them into the Overworld to wreak havoc. Oh and not to mention, Medusa would use the refined pearl to steal Herobrine's powers as soon as he stepped foot into her palace. But he didn't have to worry about any of that. As long as the flute was safe, Lydia was safe. And he was safe.

"Now, are you going to lower the sword and help, or are you going to stand around debating whether to trust me and let Lydia die and Medusa take over the world?" Reluctantly, Xephos sheathed his sword. Herobrine tentatively touched his throat where the blood was trickling. He lightly pressed on the wound and it healed. He gasped slightly as his windpipe healed and he could breath again. Not that he needed to.

"So what do we do now?" Honeydew asked, retrieving his pick from the portal. Herobrine's grin reappeared.

"We diggy diggy hole."


	11. Chapter 11

Lydia was beginning to think that waking up in a strange place after being unconscious was becoming a habit. Or a curse. Either worked.

This time however, she wasn't in a soft bed. She was in a cold and damp stone room that smelled like decay and burning flesh. She was lying next to a pile of bones. There was a heavy weight on her wrists and she noticed that she was chained to the muddy floor.

She also noticed she wasn't the only one in the dungeon. A man with dark, ebony skin and snow white dread locks was chained across the room, his eyes closed. His arms hung high above his head that lolled to one side.

"Excuse me?" Lydia whispered. He bobbed his head slightly.

"Excuse me!" She said loader. He slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes. They were ruby red and seemed to glow in the darkness of the room.

"What?" He grunted.

"Do you know where we are?" He chuckled slightly.

"We're in hell, honey." Her eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean?" He laughed again, but didn't say anything. Lydia thrashed against her chains. "What do you mean? Who are you?" He abruptly stopped laughing.

"I am Ulysses, the Dark Lord's top general and top advisor." She calmed.

"You work for Herobrine?" He nodded. "Then why are you locked in here?"

"Medusa doesn't like people interfering with her plans." They were both silent for a moment.

"But what I don't understand is why Herobrine let you be locked here. I mean if he and Medusa and working together-"

"They aren't working together." Ulysses interrupted. "Why would you think that?"

"B-because…"

"They'd never work together. Herobrine is actually trying to stop Medusa." Lydia blinked.

"You mean, he was trying to protect me?" He nodded. "I…I had no idea." The large iron door swung open and a skeleton guard walked in, a bow strapped to his back. He walked to Lydia's chains and, pulling out a key, unlocked them.

"Get up!" He rattled. She didn't move. "I said get up!" He kicked her in the stomach. She yelped in pain and curled up into a ball, gasping for air. The guard was about to kick her again when a woman spoke from the doorway.

"Guard! Stop that! There's no need to harm our honored guest."

"But Milady, she isn't cooperating."

"That doesn't mean you can beat her to death." Medusa said, shoving the guard aside. She leaned forward and gave Lydia a cold smile. "You're going to stand up and you're going to follow me. Got it?" Lydia reluctantly nodded and stood up. "Good girl."

Medusa led Lydia through dozens of dimly lit hallways. The walls were obsidian and covered in rich tapestries depicting horrible scenes. Beast hunts, murders, hordes of spiders attacking villages. Lydia cringed at the wall hangings and looked at the maroon rugs. They climbed a spiraling set of staircase of stairs and entered a large hall. A glowstone 'sun' hung from the ceiling providing light.

Skeletons milled around the room and a group of them were huddled around a 12-foot square pit of lava. Hovering above the pit was a frame the same size as the lava pit. A set of stairs led up to the frame. Medusa led Lydia to these stairs, grabbed her by the neck and threw her down onto the stairs.

"Guard!" She called. The skeleton that had been the prison guard hurried forward with another set of chains. He quickly chained Lydia to a hook on the stairs.

"What now?" Lydia screamed as Medusa walked away. "Are you going to kill me?" Medusa grinned.

"Oh in good time. But I can't yet. Not until my scout returns. Then I will kill you."

Herobrine and the cast of Yog had to travel 7km in the Nether, the equivalent of 56km in the overworld, before they reached the right portal. Then they had to dig down. Medusa's palace was pure obsidian and completely underground. Xephos noted that the farther they dug down, the more anxious Herobrine became.

While Honeydew happily dug [with the help of Fumblemore's 'magic'], Xephos walked over to Herobrine who was standing, drumming his fingers nervously on the handle of his shovel. The spaceman shoved his shovel blade into the ground and leaned on the shaft.

"You know, you could pick up your shovel and help. Or wave your hand and make the dirt disappear." He said casually.

"The protection Medusa has on her castle and the surrounding ground is beyond my comprehension. I wouldn't be able to get rid of it."

"Then pick up the shovel and help dig!" Xephos said. Honeydew yelled from the hole.

"We've hit obsidian!" There was a series of clicks. Everyone was quiet as Honeydew used his diamond pick to break an opening in the obsidian roof. Herobrine slid down the sides of the hole and crouched next to Honeydew, looking inside the opening for guards. There were none. He motioned for the rope they had brought and dropped it through the opening, handing the end to Honeydew. Then Herobrine slid down the rope, landing quietly and gracefully. He drew his sword and motioned for the others to join him. Honeydew handed the rope to Fumblemore's brother Swampy, who would be staying on the surface, and slid down the rope. The others followed.

They slowly crept down the halls, their weapons drawn, until they reached the huge wooden doors of the great hall, ornately carved with scenes similar to those in the tapestries. Herobrine hesitated at the door.

"What are you waiting for?" Orion whispered harshly.

"Uh…I-" Herobrine was interrupted b a load shriek of pain. "Lydia!" He pushed the doors open. Medusa was standing over Lydia with a bloody knife in her hand. Lydia was chained and her right side was bleeding profusely. Medusa tossed the knife behind her and walked away from the bleeding girl, toward Herobrine and his ragtag team.

"Oh Herobrine, I'm afraid you're too late." She cooed.

"But how?" He stuttered. "The flute…."

"You mean this flute?" She snapped and a skeleton with an ornate gold belt hurried forward with a velvet pillow. On the pillow was a wooden flute with silver designs broken in half. She snapped again and another skeleton with an ornate gold belt hurried forward with a velvet pillow. But on this pillow was a dark indigo sphere, glowing and sparkling. Medusa picked up the pearl and twirled it around in her palm. She then walked back to Lydia and poured a handful of the girl's blood over the pearl. The pearl absorbed the blood and a sliver of black formed in the center of the pearl, making it look like an eye. Then she held in out in her palm towards Herobrine.

Herobrine fell to his knees and gasped. He could feel the energy being sucked out of him as the pearl stole his powers. The humming that he always felt in his hands suddenly died and his vision clouded. When he could see clearly he looked at his reflection in his sword. He looked the same accept his eyes. They were no longer pure white. They were normal. Normal gray mortal eyes. He swallowed.

"You may have taken my powers," He said, slowly standing up. "but I will not let you kill the world I so painstakingly created!" He gripped his sword with all the energy he could muster and charged at the evil alchemist. Medusa snapped and a sword with a blue tinted crystal blade appeared in her hand. She easily countered Herobrine's attack.

"You're powers are quite useful Herobrine." She said lunging. He ducked and the blade only grazed his shoulder. But this time he couldn't heal himself.

As Herobrine and Medusa fought, skeletons armed with stone swords flooded into the hall. Skeletal archers lined a balcony that wrapped around the hall. Arrows began to fly and the rattling of bones filled the air.

As the heroes fought through the skeleton hoard, more flooded in. Soon, Orion and Lucy were separated from the others. They stood back-to-back and fought off skeletons; Orion using his alchemy, Lucy her agility.

"Lucy!" Orion shouted over the din of the battle. "I have a feeling we wont make it out alive!" Lucy braced herself on Orion's back and kicked an approaching skeleton in the ribs.

"And what made you realize that? The fact that we're surrounded by skeletons?" She punched another skeleton, bashing the skull to pieces.

" I just wanted to tell you that-" His eyes glowed slightly red and he shot out a wave of green fire that ignited dozens of skeletons. "despite you being a skylord and all, I don't actually hate you." She pushed him out of the way as one of the skeletons lunged at them.

"Well since we're getting things off our chests, I want you to know that I think-" Orion shot out another wave of fire. "you're kinda cute and not nearly as dumb as I thought you were." Orion grinned.

"Well now that I think about it," He said. "You're pretty cute yourself, if a bit short." Lucy smirked, kicking another skeleton in the jaw.

"Well your too tall." They both laughed.

The only place where skeletons weren't congregated was a circle in the middle of the hall where Herobrine and Medusa were still fighting.

"You can't defeat me Herobrine! I'm immortal now! Invincible!" Medusa cackled, swinging at Herobrine. He stumbled back as the tip of her sword sliced his forehead. Dark crimson blood flowed down his face and into his eyes. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. _She'll kill me before I even scratch her!_ He blocked her blade and swung a wide arch at her stomach. He noticed that she was gripping the pearl and her hand was glowing slightly. _The pearl! The pearl has my powers, not her! If I could just…_ Out of the corner of his eye he saw Xephos with a bow shooting diamond tipped arrows at the skeleton archers.

"You're right Medusa. I can't defeat you." He grinned. "Not by myself at least!" Herobrine dropped his sword and grabbed both of her wrists. Despite not being a god anymore, he was still stronger than she was. "Xephos!" He shouted. "Shoot the pearl!"

The spaceman turned and spotted the pearl in Medusa's struggling hand. He carefully pulled back his bowstring and let his last diamond tipped arrow fly. The hard tip pierced the pearl and sent shards of glass flying everywhere. Medusa screamed in fury and attempted to swing her sword at Herobrine. Herobrine kicked her and she fell to the ground, her sword flying into the air. He grabbed the sword midair and held it at her throat.

"Shall I kill you?" He asked, digging the sword point deeper into her throat. "Maybe I should chain you up in your own dungeon and let you starve. Or should I throw you into the Nether and let you burn?" Medusa's chest rose and fell calmly.

"Killing me won't bring her back." She sneered. "I've hurt you more than you could ever hurt me. You can't-" Her sentence ended in a gargle of blood. He threw down the crystal sword and picked up his own, slipping it back into the harness at his waist. At the death of their mistress, the skeletons in the hall rattled and fell to pieces.

Herobrine slowly walked over to Lydia's bloody body. He fell to his knees and cradled her head in his lap. He stroked her cheek. Her smooth skin was still warm with life, but her chest was still. The blood had stopped flowing from her side, but her tunic was soaked with dark blood and clung to her body and chest.

Tears splashed on her face. He couldn't help himself. He had just lost the one thing he loved in life. Love. That's what he felt. Love. He loved Lydia. He rested his forehead on hers and cried into her soft hair.


	12. Chapter 12

When he had cried himself to the point of dehydration, Herobrine raised his head as an idea came to him.

"Glowstone. We need glowstone. A portal made of glowstone. And a bucket of water." He said shakily. Orion heard the desperation in his voice and convinced the others to comply. He and Lucy ran off the find water while Honeydew and Xephos collected glowstone from the ceiling.

Herobrine carefully set down Lydia's body and took the bucket of water from Orion. He then threw it through the glowstone frame the heroes had created. It glowed with blue energy. He walked back to Lydia's body and picked her up, his arms cradling under her knees and neck. His eyes were downcast.

"You're going to the Aether aren't you?" Orion asked. Herobrine nodded. "Well then we're coming with you!"

"No…" Herobrine said, his voice hallow. "You're not."

"The hell we are!" Lucy shouted. "We're been through too damn much for you to tell us that we can't!"

"We've saved the world twice." Honeydew said thoughtfully. "We deserve a reward." Herobrine didn't say anything. He simply walked through the golden portal. Orion, Lucy, Xephos, Honeydew and the others followed.

They were in a valkarie temple. The walls glowed with light stone and a seven foot tall Valkarie with golden wings and hair looked at them in astonishment. But she recognized Herobrine.

"Lord Herobrine! W-what are you doing here?"

"Take us to my brother." He said simply. She was about to reply, but thought better and led them through the winding halls of the temple.

When they emerged from the temple, Herobrine scowled. The sunshine mocked him with its brightness. Several moas fluttered around the clouds surrounding the temple, chattering happily. His jaw tightened. The world shouldn't be happy. The world should be gray.

They walked down a sky wood bridge that led to Notch's massive marble palace. Honeydew and Xephos whistled.

"This is a nice place." Honeydew said.

"Well he is the creator…" Xephos said. "I mean if I was the creator, I'd have a huge palace. Well maybe not a marble one, probably diamonds, or something, but a large palace none the less." Orion and Lucy shot them the kind of glares that said, 'Shut up or we'll cut out your throats'. The tow heroes' mouths snapped shut.

The valkarie bowed when they reached the front door, but Herobrine didn't acknowledge her. He simply used his foot to open the door. The ghost servants that were working in the front parlor stopped and all began talking, asking if he needed help. But Herobrine blocked it all out. He walked up the stairs to his brother's study.

Notch was sitting comfortably at his desk, shuffling through papers and various ledgers. He didn't look up as his brother walked it.

"Herobrine, it's nice to see you again. Though it's only been about 18 hours since your last visit. What can I-" He looked up. "Oh my…" Herobrine's head was down.

"Do something brother." He said quietly. Notch scratched his short beard.

"Why don't you do something?" He said smirking. Herobrine looked at his brother with tear rimmed eyes.

"If I could do it myself, do you think I would be here pleading?" He shouted, his fingers gripping Lydia's body in anger, Notch looked at his brother's eyes, their cool gray bloodshot and clouded.

"Oh little brother…" He stood up and walked around the desk to the crying man. He carefully laid a hand on his brother's bloodied shoulder. The blood evaporated and Herobrine didn't feel the stinging pain anymore. "I only create life. I cannot bring it back. You have to go to her." Herobrine stiffened.

"No…mo I won't do it!" Notch smiled weakly, an older brother sort of smile.

"It's not for you. It's for her." Herobrine looked down at Lydia's lifeless body, now cold and gray with death. Notch leaned down and whispered. "You can go alone. I'll keep the others here." The younger brother nodded. Notch gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Then he turned to the others.

"Heroes, the world owes you a great debt! A feast is in order! Come with me." He herded them out of the small study. Herobrine took a deep breath and left the room, heading in a different direction from the others.

He left the palace through the side door and walked down the rolling green hills. He walked for almost an hour before he caught sight of the beautiful temple settle on a low hanging island. The temple was a creamy peach marble and had thin columns wrapping around the outside of its round base. It had a dome of polished silver that gleamed like fresh dew.

"Herobrine?" A small voice said from behind him. He turned and saw a ghost under a nearby apple tree, her body translucent and wavering. He once green eyes were large and her hands shook. "Is it really you?"

"L-Lydia?" Herobrine asked, looking down at the body in his arms. It was still there and still cold.

"Is that me?" She said shakily. He nodded, not trusting his voice. "S-so I'm really dead?" He nodded again. She slowly neared him and tried to touch his face. But her foggy hand dissipated as she got close to his warm flesh. She drew back, horrified. He didn't say anything, but his eyes cried out in pain. She couldn't touch him. And he couldn't touch him.

He turned away, his gaze hard. "Come on." He said harshly. He began to walk towards the temple, a new resolve in his step. He couldn't see or hear her, but Herobrine knew Lydia was following him. He could feel it.

The reached the edge of the island and a rope bridge hung between their island and the temple's. It swung slowly, back and forth like a baby's cradle. Herobrine stepped on the first plank fearlessly.

"Be careful!" Lydia called as he trekked farther over the bridge.

"I'm not afraid of falling." He said. "If I die, at least I'll be able to be with you." Lydia smiled and flitted over the bridge after him.

The inside of the temple was like the outside, elegant and shinning brilliantly. The dome had a bubbling black cloud hovering in it. Below the cloud was a silver chaise, on which an elegant woman laid, her face very serene. Her hair was long and white with black streaks and she wore a stark white dress. Her thin, delicate wrists were heavily laden with silver and gold bracelets, as were her ankles. She slowly blinked her sparkling black eyes.

"I've been waiting for you, my son. But you've taken too long." Herobrine bowed his head.

"I am sorry mother. I did not mean to stay away so long." The woman remained serene, a calm smile adorning her pale face.

"You did not mean to, but you did. That of which I do not understand." His already fragile demeanor cracked and the tears began running down his face again.

"I did not want to disappoint you anymore." He choked out. She carefully rose from the chaise and placed a hand on Herobrine's shoulder.

"You have never disappointed me, my son. Your creations are wonderful and you are wiser than anyone. I am proud of what you have made and what you have done in the overworld. You would never be able to disappoint me." He felt a twinge on his chest, then lightness. Everything had been lifted from his heart. The only thing left was…

"Mother, there is another reason I came." He shifted the cold body in his arms. She took it from his arms and laid it gently on the chaise. Then she turned to Lydia.

"So you are the ghost of that body?" Lydia nodded. "Well you can't stay a ghost when my son misses you so much." She beckoned Lydia forward. Then she pulled down some of the blackness from the dome, shaping it into a body like shape. "I can make you a different body. A better body. What have you always dreamed of looking like? Skinnier?" The blackness shrunk. "Perhaps more voluptuous?" The curves on the black figure became more obscene. "Bigger eyes? A deeper lower lip? Maybe curly brown hair instead of strait red." The figure changed so much, Lydia didn't recognize it. Herobrine stepped forward and hit the figure, causing it to evaporate.

"I liked her old body, just the way it was." She turned back to Lydia's old body, stiffly lying on the chaise.

"Fine." She sighed angrily. She took Lydia's hand and shoved her into the body. The color returned to her cheeks and the dried blood flaked off of the healed skin. Her green eyes flew open and she gasped for breath. She sat up and looked down at her body.

"I…I…" She stammered.

"Hush child." The woman said. "I am not the one you need to thank. I did not carry you body through the heavens." Herobrine fell to his knees nest to the chaise.

"Lydia…I am so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen…I tried to protect you….I really did…Please forgive me." Lydia swallowed and took her a shaky breath before flinging her arms around him.

"There's no way I couldn't forgive you." She said, her voice choking with tears. "You've saved my life so many times." She felt the slight brush of his hair against her hand. "When did you cut your hair?" He smiled and a chuckle ran through him.

"A few hours ago…Do you like it?" She nodded.

"It's more you." He stood up, pulling Lydia along with him.

"We should return to the others. They'll notice I'm gone." They were about to leave the temple when the goddess stopped them.

"Wait, my son. You are forgetting something." He turned and she kissed him on the cheek. "You are now a god again." His remaining wounds healed and he felt the hum of power in his hands. But then he thought of something.

"What about Lydia?" She looked at her son with eyes filled with compassion and a small streak of wisdom.

"I cannot make her a god…she has no divine blood." Their shoulders fell in defeat. "But I suppose I can make her immortal. If that is what she desires." Lydia nodded and the goddess kissed her on her cheek. Lydia immediately felt healthier and younger.

"Thank you." Lydia breathed, unable to contain her joy. Herobrine tugged on her hand and pulled her out of the temple and across the rope bridge. Hand in hand, they walked through the pale green hills back to Notch's stunning marble palace. They walked through the main hall and into the dining hall where a long table was piled high with pork and beef, chicken and stew, breads and cheeses, fruits and wine, cakes and puddings. Lucy saw Lydia and nearly fell out of her chair. Orion, who was sitting next to Lucy, calmly sipping a glass of ruby red wine, glanced towards the door to see what had startled his friend so much. He sputtered and coughed. This got the attention of the others. Notch stood and threw an arm around his brother.

"Brother! You've returned. I take it your, uh, mission was successful. Come, let us talk." He led the younger to the head of the table and a servant brought out two cups of tea for them.

Lydia went over to Lucy, who had righted herself, and hugged her.

"Lydia!" The Skylord shouted. "You're alive! Or alive again."

"Just the way I was." The redhead replied. "Well sort of. But I'm so glad you two are alright, and not fighting anymore. She sat down in a chair Orion had pulled between the three of them. No sooner had she sat down, when a plate piled high with food was shoved in her hands. "Guys, I'm fine. I don't need so much food." Her stomach growled in protest.

Xephos looked at Honeydew who had just downed another glass of wine.

"You know, I've been thinking." The dwarf grunted.

"Yeah?"

"I think I might change my name to Lewis…"


End file.
